My fellow blogger and fellow Beaumont old boy, Jerry Hawthorne, makes a very good point, à propos the terrible goings-on in Ireland, when he says that the closer Church and State are together, the greater the scope for abuse.
Here is the link to his blog:
http://maytreesmusings.blogspot.com/
And à propos the lack of coverage in the Catholic Herald and The Tablet, the latter at least makes honourable amends with a truly superb article by John Walters:
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/page/Irish%20abuse%20scandal
The last paragraph, in particular, brings one up with a jolt:
“Whistle-blowing from a safe remove supports our present-centred sense of moral superiority and the prevailing imperative to turn away from different kinds of inconvenient truths. We have unlimited appetites for hearing about obscenities which require us to do nothing about the "now". The present is less expendable than the past, but is held together by the same kinds of compromises, vested interests and loyalties that once glued together a different model of power and its corruption. To enquire too closely into what goes on now would not be containable in the manner of even the most rigorous examination of yesteryear. We might have to stand for something. We might have to confront those whose power threatens us and makes us afraid. We might have to grow up.”
Thanks for the mention Barnaby. Abuse especially of children is always hideous so invariably makes headline news. That the Church is involved makes it all the more hideous and alas, newsworthy. The untold heroic good works by clergy
ReplyDeleteandlaity within the Church are often not deemed newsworthy tales to tell so if all learning about today's Church was left to today's media it the learning would be very dark, bleak and unbalanced. Thankfully today Pentecost, celebrates the Holy Spirit.